February 21, 2017 : Whit H. Hanks, and Kim Hanks

Hanks entered the real estate profession as a sophomore at the University of Texas, buying twenty-five residential properties one-by-one and remodeling them while a student. After receiving a Plan II degree and an M.B.A. from Texas, Hanks worked for U. S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen in Washington, D.C. and J. P. Morgan Bank in New York before returning to Austin to make his home.

He founded Whit Hanks Antiques in 1985 and imported antiques from Europe, specializing in architectural antiques. At the same time, he also developed several large commercial real estate projects in Austin. Hanks began acquiring property in the Dripping Springs area about 15 years ago; building or buying quite a few properties in the community since then.

Hanks co-founded Pioneer Bank in 2007, and he continues to serve as its Chairman. Pioneer Bank should become the largest community banks (ranked by assets) in Central Texas with more than 20 branches statewide, more than $1.1 billion in assets and more than 250 employees.

Beginning in 2009, Hanks began development of Camp Lucy, an upscale wedding venue and resort facility near Dripping Springs. Hanks and his wife Kim, own Whim Hospitality, LLC, which manages Camp Lucy and also offers hospitality services, including catering, florals, rentals, tents, and other services to the many wedding venues operating nearby and also in Austin. In both 2015 and 2016, Whim was ranked the second fasting growing company in Central Texas by the
Austin Business Journal. It was ranked #311 fastest growing by
Inc. Magazine in 2016 and Hanks and his wife Kim were featured in the print version of the publication.

Kim serves as CEO of Whim, and the company has assembled an extremely talented staff of hospitality professionals who love what they do.